System with wireless earphones

ABSTRACT

Apparatus comprises adapter and speaker system. Adapter is configured to plug into port of personal digital audio player. Speaker system is in communication with adapter, and comprises multiple acoustic transducers, programmable processor circuit, and wireless communication circuit. In first operational mode, processor circuit receives, via adapter, and processes digital audio content from personal digital audio player into which adapter is plugged, and the multiple acoustic transducers output the received audio content from the personal digital audio player. In second operational mode, wireless communication circuit receives digital audio content from a remote digital audio source over a wireless network, processor circuit processes the digital audio content received from remote digital audio source, and the multiple acoustic transducers output the audio content received from the remote digital audio source.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application claims priority as a continuation to U.S.nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 15/082,040, filed Mar. 28,2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,497,535, which is a continuation of U.S.nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/695,696, filed Apr. 24,2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,438,987, issued on Sep. 6, 2016, which is acontinuation of U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No.13/609,409, filed Sep. 11, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,049,502, issuedJun. 2, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 13/459,291, filed Apr. 30, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No.8,571,544, issued Oct. 29, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/936,488, filed Dec. 20, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No.8,190,203, issued May 29, 2012, which is a national stage entry ofPCT/US2009/039754, filed Apr. 7, 2009, which claims priority to U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/123,265, filed Apr. 7, 2008,all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/031,938, filed Sep.13, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,655,420, issued Feb. 18, 2014, is also acontinuation of U.S. nonprovisional patent application Ser. No.13/609,409, filed Sep. 11, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,049,502, mentionedabove.

BACKGROUND

Digital audio players, such as MP3 players and iPods, that store andplay digital audio files, are very popular. Such devices typicallycomprise a data storage unit for storing and playing the digital audio,and a headphone set that connects to the data storage unit, usually witha ¼ or a 3.5 mm jack and associated cord. Often the headphones arein-ear type headphones. The cord, however, between the headphones andthe data storage unit can be cumbersome and annoying to users, and thelength of the cord limits the physical distance between the data storageunit and the headphones. Accordingly, some cordless headphones have beenproposed, such as the Monster iFreePlay cordless headphones from AppleInc., which include a docking port on one of the earphones that canconnect directly to an iPod Shuffle. Because they have the docking port,however, the Monster iFreePlay cordless headphones from Apple are quitelarge and are not in-ear type phones. Recently, cordless headphones thatconnect wirelessly via IEEE 802.11 to a WLAN-ready laptop or personalcomputer (PC) have been proposed, but such headphones are also quitelarge and not in-ear type phones.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to a wirelessearphone that comprises a transceiver circuit for receiving streamingaudio from a data source, such as a digital audio player or a computer,over an ad hoc wireless network. When the data source and the earphoneare out of range via the ad hoc wireless network, they may transitionautomatically to a common infrastructure wireless network (e.g., awireless LAN). If there is no common infrastructure wireless network forboth the data source and the earphone, the earphone may connect via anavailable infrastructure wireless network to a host server. The hostserver may, for example, broadcast streaming audio to the earphoneand/or transmit to the earphone a network address (e.g., an InternetProtocol (IP) address) for a network-connected content server thatstreams digital audio. The earphone may then connect to the contentserver using the IP address. The content server may be an Internet radioserver, including, for example, an Internet radio server that broadcastsstreaming audio from the data source or some other content.

These and other advantageous, unique aspects of the wireless earphoneare described below.

FIGURES

Various embodiments of the present invention are described herein by wayof example in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:

FIGS. 1A-1E are views of a wireless earphone according to variousembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate various communication modes for a wirelessearphone according to various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a wireless earphone according to variousembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4B show the wireless earphone connected to another deviceaccording to various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a process implemented by a host server accordingto various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a process implemented by the wireless earphone totransition automatically between wireless networks according to variousembodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 7, 8 and 10 illustrate communication systems involving thewireless earphone according to various embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a headset including a wireless earphone and amicrophone according to various embodiments of the present invention;and

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a pair of wireless earphones with a dongleaccording to various embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION

In one general aspect, the present invention is directed to a wirelessearphone that receives streaming audio data via ad hoc wireless networksand infrastructure wireless networks, and that transitions seamlesslybetween wireless networks. The earphone may comprise one or more in-ear,on-ear, or over-ear speaker elements. Two exemplary in-ear earphoneshapes for the wireless earphone 10 are shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B,respectively, although in other embodiments the earphone may takedifferent shapes and the exemplary shapes shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B arenot intended to be limiting. In one embodiment, the earphone transitionsautomatically and seamlessly, without user intervention, betweencommunication modes. That is, the earphone may transition automaticallyfrom an ad hoc wireless network to an infrastructure wireless network,without user intervention. As used herein, an “ad hoc wireless network”is a network where two (or more) wireless-capable devices, such as theearphone and a data source, communicate directly and wirelessly, withoutusing an access point. An “infrastructure wireless network,” on theother hand, is a wireless network that uses one or more access points toallow a wireless-capable device, such as the wireless earphone, toconnect to a computer network, such as a LAN or WAN (including theInternet).

FIGS. 1A and 1B show example configurations for a wireless earphone 10according to various embodiments of the present invention. The examplesshown in FIGS. 1A and 1B are not limiting and other configurations arewithin the scope of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B,the earphone 10 may comprise a body 12. The body 12 may comprise an earcanal portion 14 that is inserted in the ear canal of the user of theearphone 10. In various embodiments, the body 12 also may comprise anexterior portion 15 that is not inserted into user's ear canal. Theexterior portion 15 may comprise a knob 16 or some other user control(such as a dial, a pressure-activated switch, lever, etc.) for adjustingthe shape of the ear canal portion 14. That is, in various embodiments,activation (e.g. rotation) of the knob 16 may cause the ear canalportion 14 to change shape so as to, for example, radially expand to fitsnugly against all sides of the user's ear canal. Further detailsregarding such a shape-changing earbud earphone are described inapplication PCT/US08/88656, filed 31 Dec. 2008, entitled “AdjustableShape Earphone,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The earphone 10 also may comprise a transceiver circuit housedwithin the body 12. The transceiver circuit, described further below,may transmit and receive the wireless signals, including receivestreaming audio for playing by the earphone 10. The transceiver circuitmay be housed in the exterior portion 15 of the earphone 10 and/or inthe ear canal portion 14.

Although the example earphones 10 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B include aknob 16 for adjusting the shape of the ear canal portion 14, the presentinvention is not so limited, and in other embodiments, different meansbesides a knob 16 may be used to adjust the ear canal portion 14. Inaddition, in other embodiments, the earphone 10 may not comprise ashape-changing ear canal portion 14.

In various embodiments, the user may wear two discrete wirelessearphones 10: one in each ear. In such embodiments, each earphone 10 maycomprise a transceiver circuit. In such embodiments, the earphones 10may be connected by a string or some other cord-type connector to keepthe earphones 10 from being separated.

In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1C, a headband 19 may connect thetwo (left and right) earphones 10. The headband 19 may be anover-the-head band, as shown in the example of FIG. 1C, or the headbandmay be a behind-the-head band. In embodiments comprising a headband 19,each earphone 10 may comprise a transceiver circuit; hence, eachearphone 10 may receive and transmit separately the wirelesscommunication signals. In other embodiments comprising a headband 19,only one earphone 10 may comprise the transceiver circuit, and a wiremay run along the headband 19 to the other earphone 10 to connectthereby the transceiver circuit to the acoustic transducer in theearphone that does not comprise the transceiver circuit. The embodimentshown in FIG. 1C comprises on-ear earphones 10; in other embodiments,in-ear or over-ear earphones may be used.

In other embodiments, the earphone 10 may comprise a hanger bar 17 thatallows the earphone 10 to clip to, or hang on, the user's ear, as shownin the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1D-1E. FIG. 1D is a perspectiveview of the earphone and FIG. 1E is a side view according to oneembodiment. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the earphone 10 maycomprise dual speaker elements 106-A, 106-B. One of the speaker elements(the smaller one) 106-A is sized to fit into the cavum concha of thelistener's ear and the other element (the larger one) 106-B is not. Thelistener may use the hanger bar to position the earphone on thelistener's ear. In that connection, the hanger bar may comprise ahorizontal section that rests upon the upper external curvature of thelistener's ear behind the upper portion of the auricula (or pinna). Theearphone may comprise a knurled knob that allows the user to adjustfinely the distance between the horizontal section of the hanger bar andthe speaker elements, thereby providing, in such embodiments, anothermeasure of adjustability for the user. More details regarding such adual element, adjustable earphone may be found in U.S. provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 61/054,238, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate various communication modes for a wireless datacommunication system involving the earphone 10 according to embodimentsof the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2A, the system comprises adata source 20 in communication with the earphone 10 via an ad hocwireless network 24. The earphone 10, via its transceiver circuit(described in more detail below), may communicate wirelessly with a datasource 20, which may comprise a wireless network adapter 22 fortransmitting the digital audio wirelessly. For example, the data source20 may be a digital audio player (DAP), such as an mp3 player or aniPod, or any other suitable digital audio playing device, such as alaptop or personal computer, that stores and/or plays digital audiofiles. In other embodiments, the data source 20 may generate analogaudio, and the wireless network adapter 22 may encode the analog audiointo digital format for transmission to the earphone 10.

The wireless network adapter 22 may be an integral part of the datasource 20, or it may be a separate device that is connected to the datasource 20 to provide wireless connectivity for the data source 20. Forexample, the wireless network adapter 22 may comprise a wireless networkinterface card (WNIC) or other suitable transceiver that plugs into aUSB port or other port or jack of the data source 20 (such as a TRSconnector) to stream data, e.g., digital audio files, via a wirelessnetwork (e.g., the ad hoc wireless network 24 or an infrastructurewireless network). The digital audio transmitted from the data source 20to the earphone 10 via the wireless networks may comprise compressed oruncompressed audio. Any suitable file format may be used for the audio,including mp3, lossy or lossless WMA, Vorbis, Musepack, FLAC, WAV, AIFF,AU, or any other suitable file format.

When in range, the data source 20 may communicate with the earphone 10via the ad hoc wireless network 24 using any suitable wirelesscommunication protocol, including Wi-Fi (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n),WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), Bluetooth, Zigbee, UWB, or any other suitablewireless communication protocol. For purposes of the description tofollow, it is assumed that the data source 20 and the earphone 10communicate using a Wi-Fi protocol, although the invention is not solimited and other wireless communication protocols may be used in otherembodiments of the invention. The data source 20 and the earphone 10 areconsidered in range for the ad hoc wireless network 24 when the signalstrengths (e.g., the RSSI) of the signals received by the two devicesare above a threshold minimum signal strength level. For example, thedata source 20 and the earphone 10 are likely to be in range for an adhoc wireless network when then are in close proximity, such as when thewearer of the earphone 10 has the data source 20 on his/her person, suchas in a pocket, strapped to their waist or arm, or holding the datasource in their hand.

When the earphone 10 and the data source 20 are out of range for the adhoc wireless network 24, that is, when the received signals degradebelow the threshold minimum signal strength level, both the earphone 10and the data source 20 may transition automatically to communicate overan infrastructure wireless network (such as a wireless LAN (WLAN)) 30that is in the range of both the earphone 10 and the data source 20, asshown in FIG. 2B. The earphone 10 and the data source 20 (e.g., thewireless network adapter 22) may include firmware, as described furtherbelow, that cause the components to make the transition to a commoninfrastructure wireless network 30 automatically and seamlessly, e.g.,without user intervention. The earphone 10 may cache the received audioin a buffer or memory for a time period before playing the audio. Thecached audio may be played after the connection over the ad hoc wirelessnetwork is lost to give the earphone 10 and the data source 20 time toconnect via the infrastructure wireless network.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the infrastructure network maycomprise an access point 32 that is in the range of both the data source20 and the earphone 10. The access point 32 may be an electronichardware device that acts as a wireless access point for, and that isconnected to, a wired and/or wireless data communication network 33,such as a LAN or WAN, for example. The data source 20 and the earphone10 may both communicate wirelessly with the access point 32 using theappropriate network data protocol (a Wi-Fi protocol, for example). Thedata source 20 and the earphone 10 may both transition automatically toan agreed-upon WLAN 30 that is in the range of both devices when theycannot communicate satisfactorily via the ad hoc wireless network 24. Aprocedure for specifying an agreed-upon infrastructure wireless network30 is described further below. Alternatively, the infrastructurewireless network 30 may have multiple access points 32 a-b, as shown inFIG. 2C. In such an embodiment, the data source 20 may communicatewirelessly with one access point 32 b and the earphone 10 maycommunicate wirelessly with another access point 32 a of the sameinfrastructure wireless network 30. Again, the data source 20 and theearphone 10 may transition to an agreed-upon WLAN.

If there is no suitable common infrastructure wireless network overwhich the earphone 10 and the data source 20 can communicate, as shownin FIG. 2D, the earphone 10 may transition to communicate with an accesspoint 32 a for an available (first) wireless network (e.g., WLAN) 30 athat is in the range of the earphone 10. In this mode, the earphone 10may connect via the wireless network 30 a to a network-enabled hostserver 40. The host server 40 may be connected to the wireless network30 a via an electronic data communication network 42, such as theInternet. In one mode, the host server 40 may transmit streaming digitalaudio via the networks 33 a, 42 to the earphone 10. In another mode, thehost server 40 may transmit to the earphone 10 a network address, suchas an Internet Protocol (IP) address, for a streaming digital audiocontent server 70 on the network 42. Using the received IP address, theearphone 10 may connect to the streaming digital audio content server 70via the networks 30 a, 42 to receive and process digital audio from thestreaming digital audio content server 70.

The digital audio content server 70 may be, for example, an Internetradio station server. The digital audio content server 70 may streamdigital audio over the network 42 (e.g., the Internet), which theearphone 10 may receive and process. In one embodiment, the streamingdigital audio content server 70 may stream digital audio received by thestreaming digital audio content server 70 from the data source 20. Forexample, where the data source 20 is a wireless-capable device, such asa portable DAP, the data source 20 may connect to the streaming digitalaudio content server 70 via a wireless network 30 b and the network 42.Alternatively, where for example the data source 20 isnon-wireless-capable device, such as a PC, the data source 20 may have adirect wired connection to the network 42. After being authenticated bythe streaming digital audio content server 70, the data source 20 maystream digital audio to the streaming digital audio content server 70,which may broadcast the received digital audio over the network 42(e.g., the Internet). In such a manner, the user of the earphone 10 maylisten to audio from the data source 20 even when (i) the earphone 10and the data source 20 are not in communication via an ad hoc wirelessnetwork 24 and (ii) the earphone 10 and the data source 20 are not incommunication via a common local infrastructure wireless network 30.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the earphone 10 according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, theearphone 10 comprises a transceiver circuit 100 and related peripheralcomponents. As shown in FIG. 3, the peripheral components of theearphone 10 may comprise a power source 102, a microphone 104, one ormore acoustic transducers 106 (e.g., speakers), and an antenna 108. Thetransceiver circuit 100 and some of the peripheral components (such asthe power source 102 and the acoustic transducers 106) may be housedwithin the body 12 of the earphone 10 (see FIG. 1). Other peripheralcomponents, such as the microphone 104 and the antenna 108 may beexternal to the body 12 of the earphone 10. In addition, some of theperipheral components, such as the microphone 104, are optional invarious embodiments.

In various embodiments, the transceiver circuit 100 may be implementedas a single integrated circuit (IC), such as a system-on-chip (SoC),which is conducive to miniaturizing the components of the earphone 10,which is advantageous if the earphone 10 is to be relatively small insize, such as an in-ear earphone (see FIGS. 1A-1B for example). Inalternative embodiments, however, the components of the transceivercircuit 100 could be realized with two or more discrete ICs or othercomponents, such as separate ICs for the processors, memory, and RF(e.g., Wi-Fi) module, for example.

The power source 102 may comprise, for example, a rechargeable ornon-rechargeable battery (or batteries). In other embodiments, the powersource 102 may comprise one or more ultracapacitors (sometimes referredto as supercapacitors) that are charged by a primary power source. Inembodiments where the power source 102 comprises a rechargeable batterycell or an ultracapacitor, the battery cell or ultracapacitor, as thecase may be, may be charged for use, for example, when the earphone 10is connected to a docking station or computer. The docking station maybe connected to or part of a computer device, such as a laptop computeror PC. In addition to charging the rechargeable power source 102, thedocking station and/or computer may facilitate downloading of data toand/or from the earphone 10. In other embodiments, the power source 102may comprise capacitors passively charged with RF radiation, such asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,027,311. The power source 102 may becoupled to a power source control module 103 of transceiver circuit 100that controls and monitors the power source 102.

The acoustic transducer(s) 106 may be the speaker element(s) forconveying the sound to the user of the earphone 10. According to variousembodiments, the earphone 10 may comprise one or more acoustictransducers 106. For embodiments having more than one transducer, onetransducer may be larger than the other transducer, and a crossovercircuit (not shown) may transmit the higher frequencies to the smallertransducer and may transmit the lower frequencies to the largertransducer. More details regarding dual element earphones are providedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,206, assigned to Koss Corporation, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The antenna 108 may receive and transmit the wireless signals from andto the wireless networks 24, 30. A RF (e.g., Wi-Fi) module 110 of thetransceiver circuit 100 in communication with the antenna 108 may, amongother things, modulate and demodulate the signals transmitted from andreceived by the antenna 108. The RF module 110 communicates with abaseband processor 112, which performs other functions necessary for theearphone 10 to communicate using the Wi-Fi (or other communication)protocol.

The baseband processor 112 may be in communication with a processor unit114, which may comprise a microprocessor 116 and a digital signalprocessor (DSP) 118. The microprocessor 116 may control the variouscomponents of the transceiver circuit 100. The DSP 114 may, for example,perform various sound quality enhancements to the digital audio receivedby the baseband processor 112, including noise cancellation and soundequalization. The processor unit 114 may be in communication with avolatile memory unit 120 and a non-volatile memory unit 122. A memorymanagement unit 124 may control the processor unit's access to thememory units 120, 122. The volatile memory 122 may comprise, forexample, a random access memory (RAM) circuit. The non-volatile memoryunit 122 may comprise a read only memory (ROM) and/or flash memorycircuits. The memory units 120, 122 may store firmware that is executedby the processor unit 114. Execution of the firmware by the processorunit 114 may provide various functionality for the earphone 10, such asthe automatic transition between wireless networks as described herein.The memory units 120, 122 may also cache received digital audio.

A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 125 may convert the digital audiofrom the processor unit 114 to analog form for coupling to the acoustictransducer(s) 106. An I²S interface 126 or other suitable serial orparallel bus interface may provide the interface between the processorunit 114 and the DAC 125. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 128,which also communicates with the I²S interface 126, may convert analogaudio signals picked up by the microphone 104 for processing by theprocessor unit 114.

The transceiver circuit 100 also may comprise a USB or other suitableinterface 130 that allows the earphone 10 to be connected to an externaldevice via a USB cable or other suitable link. As shown in FIG. 4A, theexternal device may be a docking station 200 connected to a computerdevice 202. Also, in various embodiments, the earphone 10 could beconnected directly to the computer 202 without the docking station 200.In addition, the external device may be a DAP 210, as shown in FIG. 4B.In that way, the earphone 10 could connect directly to a data source 20,such as the DAP 210 or the computer 202, through the USB port 130. Inaddition, through the USB port 130, the earphone 10 may connect to a PC202 or docking station 202 to charge up the power source 102 and/or toget downloads (e.g., data or firmware).

According to various embodiments, the earphone 10 may have an associatedweb page that a user may access through the host server 40 (see FIG. 2D)or some other server. An authenticated user could log onto the websitefrom a client computing device 50 (e.g., laptop, PC, handheld computerdevice, etc., including the data source 20) (see FIG. 2D) to access theweb page for the earphone 10 to set various profile values for theearphone 10. For example, at the web site, the user could set variouscontent features and filters, as well as adjust various sound controlfeatures, such as treble, bass, frequency settings, noise cancellationsettings, etc. In addition, the user could set preferred streaming audiostations, such as preferred Internet radio stations or other streamingaudio broadcasts. That way, instead of listening to streaming audio fromthe data source 20, the user could listen to Internet radio stations orother streaming audio broadcasts received by the earphone 10. In such anoperating mode, the earphone user, via the web site, may prioritize anumber of Internet radio stations or other broadcast sources (hosted bystreaming digital audio content servers 70). With reference to FIG. 7,the host server 40 may send the IP address for the earphone user'sdesired (e.g., highest priority) Internet radio station to the earphone10. A button 11 on the earphone 10, such as on the rotating dial 16 asshown in the examples of FIGS. 1A and 1B, may allow the user to cyclethrough the preset preferred Internet radio stations. That is, forexample, when the user presses the button 11, an electroniccommunication may be transmitted to the host server 40 via the wirelessnetwork 30, and in response to receiving the communication, the hostserver 40 may send the IP address for the user's next highest ratedInternet radio station via the network 42 to the earphone 10. Theearphone 10 may then connect to the streaming digital audio contentserver 70 for that Internet radio station using the IP address providedby the host server 40. This process may be repeated, e.g., cycledthrough, for each preset Internet radio station configured by the userof the earphone 10.

At the web site for the earphone 10 hosted on the host server 40, inaddition to establishing the identification of digital audio sources(e.g., IDs for the user's DAP or PC) and earphones, the user could setparental or other user controls. For example, the user could restrictcertain Internet radio broadcasts based on content or parental ratings,etc. That is, for example, the user could configure a setting throughthe web site that prevents the host server 40 from sending an IP addressfor a streaming digital audio content server 70 that broadcasts explicitcontent based on a rating for the content. In addition, if a number ofdifferent earphones 10 are registered to the same user, the user coulddefine separate controls for the different earphones 10 (as well ascustomize any other preferences or settings particular to the earphones10, including Internet radio stations, sound quality settings, etc. thatwould later be downloaded to the earphones 10). In addition, in modeswhere the host server 40 streams audio to the earphone 10, the hostserver 40 may log the files or content streamed to the various earphones10, and the user could view at the web site the files or content thatwere played by the earphones 10. In that way, the user could monitor thefiles played by the earphones 10.

In addition, the host server 40 may provide a so-called eavesdroppingfunction according to various embodiments. The eavesdropping servicecould be activated via the web site. When the service is activated, thehost server 40 may transmit the content that it is delivering to a firstearphone 10 a to another, second earphone 10 b, as shown in FIG. 8.Alternatively, the host server 40 may transmit to the second earphone 10b the most recent IP address for a streaming digital audio contentserver 70 that was sent to the first earphone 10 a. The second earphone10 b may then connect to the streaming digital audio content server 70that the first earphone 10 a is currently connected. That way, the userof the second earphone 10 b, which may be a parent, for example, maydirectly monitor the content being received by the first earphone 10 a,which may belong to a child of the parent.

This function also could be present in the earphones 10 themselves,allowing a parent (or other user) to join an ad-hoc wireless network andlisten to what their child (or other listener) is hearing. For example,with reference to FIG. 10, a first earphone 10 a may receive wirelessaudio, such as from the data source 20 or some other source, such as thehost server 40. The first earphone 10 a may be programmed with firmwareto broadcast the received audio to a second earphone 10 b via an ad hocwireless network 24. That way, the wearer of the second earphone 10 bcan monitor in real-time the content being played by the first earphone10 a.

At the web site, the user may also specify the identification number(“ID”) of their earphone(s) 10, and the host server 40 may translate theID to the current internet protocol (IP) addresses for the earphone 10and for the data source 20. This allows the user to find his or her datasource 20 even when it is behind a firewall or on a changing IP address.That way, the host server 40 can match the audio from the data source 20to the appropriate earphone 10 based on the specified device ID. Theuser also could specify a number of different data sources 20. Forexample, the user's DAP may have one specified IP address and the user'shome (or work) computer may have another specified IP address. Via theweb site hosted by the host server 40, the user could specify orprioritize from which source (e.g., the user's DAP or computer) theearphone 10 is to receive content.

The host server 40 (or some other server) may also push firmwareupgrades and/or data updates to the earphone 10 using the IP addressesof the earphone 10 via the networks 30, 42. In addition, a user coulddownload the firmware upgrades and/or data updates from the host server40 to the client computing device 202 (see FIG. 4A) via the Internet,and then download the firmware upgrades and/or data updates to theearphone 10 when the earphone 10 is connected to the client computerdevice 202 (such as through a USB port and/or the docking station 200).

Whether the downloads are transmitted wirelessly to the earphone 10 orvia the client computing device 202 may depend on the current data rateof the earphone 10 and the quantity of data to be transmitted to theearphone 10. For example, according to various embodiments, as shown inthe process flow of FIG. 5, the host server 40 may be programmed, atstep 50, to make a determination, based on the current data rate for theearphone 10 and the size of the update, whether the update should bepushed to the earphone 10 wirelessly (e.g., via the WLAN 30 a in FIG.2D). If the update is too large and/or the current data rate is too lowthat the performance of the earphone 10 will be adversely affected, thehost server 40 may refrain from pushing the update to the earphone 10wirelessly and wait instead to download the update to the clientcomputing device 202 at step 51. Conversely, if the host server 40determines that, given the size of the update and the current data ratefor the earphone 10 that the performance of the earphone 10 will not beadversely affected, the host server 40 may transmit the updatewirelessly to the earphone 10 at step 52.

As mentioned above, the processor unit 114 of the speakerphones 14 maybe programmed, via firmware stored in the memory 120, 122, to have theability to transition automatically from the ad hoc wireless network 24to an infrastructure wireless network 30 (such as a WLAN) when thequality of the signal on the ad hoc wireless network 24 degrades below asuitable threshold (such as when the data source 20 is out of range foran ad hoc wireless network). In that case, the earphone 10 and the datasource 20 may connect to a common infrastructure wireless network (e.g.,WLAN) (see, for example, FIGS. 2B-2C). Through the web site for theearphone 10, described above, the user could specify a priority ofinfrastructure wireless networks 30 for the data source 20 and theearphone 10 to connect to when the ad hoc wireless network 24 is notavailable. For example, the user could specify a WLAN servicing his/herresidence first, a WLAN servicing his/her place of employment second,etc. During the time that the earphone 10 and the data source 20 areconnected via the ad hoc wireless network 24, the earphone 10 and thedata source 20 may exchange data regarding which infrastructure networksare in range. When the earphone 10 and the data source 20 are no longerin range for the ad hoc wireless network 24 (that is, for example, thesignals between the device degrade below an acceptable level), they mayboth transition automatically to the highest prioritized infrastructurewireless network whose signal strength is above a certain thresholdlevel. That way, even though the earphone 10 and the data source 20 areout of range for the ad hoc wireless network 24, the earphone 10 maystill receive the streaming audio from the data source 20 via theinfrastructure wireless network 30 (see FIGS. 2B-2C).

When none of the preferred infrastructure networks is in range, theearphone 10 may connect automatically to the host server 40 via anavailable infrastructure wireless network 30 (see FIG. 2D), e.g., theinfrastructure wireless network 30 having the highest RSSI and to whichthe earphone 10 is authenticated to use. The host server 40, asmentioned above, may transmit IP addresses to the earphone 10 forstreaming digital audio content servers 70 or the host sever 40 maystream digital audio to the earphone 10 itself when in thiscommunication mode.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the process flow, according to one embodiment,implemented by the transceiver circuit 100 of the earphone 10. Theprocess shown in FIG. 6 may be implemented in part by the processor unit114 executing firmware stored in a memory unit 120, 122 of thetransceiver circuit 100. At step 61, the earphone 10 may determine if itcan communicate with the data source 20 via an ad hoc wireless network24. That is, the earphone 10 may determine if the strength of thewireless signals from the data source 20 exceed some minimum threshold.If so, the data source 20 and the earphone 10 may communicate wirelesslyvia the ad hoc wireless network 24 (see FIG. 2A). While in thiscommunication mode, at step 62, the data source 20 and the earphone 10also may exchange data regarding the local infrastructure wirelessnetworks, if any, in the range of the data source 20 and the earphone10, respectively. For example, the earphone 10 may transmit the ID oflocal infrastructure wireless networks 30 that the earphone 10 candetect whose signal strength (e.g., RSSI) exceeds some minimum thresholdlevel. Similarly, the data source 20 may transmit the ID the localinfrastructure wireless networks 30 that the data source 20 can detectwhose signal strength (e.g., RSSI) exceeds some minimum threshold level.The earphone 10 may save this data in a memory unit 120, 122. Similarly,the data source 20 may store in memory the wireless networks that theearphone 10 is detected.

The data source 20 and the earphone 10 may continue to communicate viathe ad hoc wireless network mode 24 until they are out of range (e.g.,the signal strengths degrade below a minimum threshold level). If an adhoc wireless network 24 is not available at block 61, the transceivercircuit 100 and the data source 20 may execute a process, shown at block63, to connect to the user's highest prioritized infrastructure wirelessnetwork 30. For example, of the infrastructure wireless networks whosesignal strength exceeded the minimum threshold for both the earphone 10and the data source 20 determined at step 62, the earphone 10 and thedata source 20 may both transition to the infrastructure wirelessnetwork 30 having the highest priority, as previously set by the user(seen FIGS. 2B-2C, for example). For example, if the user's highestprioritized infrastructure wireless network 30 is not available, but theuser's second highest prioritized infrastructure wireless network 30 is,the earphone 10 and the data source 20 may both transition automaticallyto the user's second highest prioritized infrastructure wireless network30 at block 64. As shown by the loop with block 65, the earphone 10 andthe data source 20 may continue to communicate via one of the user'sprioritized infrastructure wireless networks 30 as long as theinfrastructure wireless network 30 is available. If the infrastructurewireless network becomes unavailable, the process may return to block61.

If, however, no ad hoc wireless network and none of the user'sprioritized infrastructure wireless networks are available, the earphone10 may transition automatically to connect to the host server 40 atblock 66 (see FIG. 2D) using an available infrastructure wirelessnetwork 30. At block 67, the host server 40 may transmit an IP addressto the earphone 10 for one of the streaming digital audio contentservers 70, and at block 68 the earphone 10 may connect to the streamingdigital audio content server 70 using the received IP address. At step69, as long as the earphone 10 is connected to the streaming digitalaudio content server 70, the earphone 10 may continue to communicate inthis mode. However, if the earphone 10 loses its connection to thedigital audio content server 70, the process may return to block 61 inone embodiment. As mentioned above, at block 67, instead of sending anIP address for a streaming digital audio content server 70, the hostserver 40 may stream digital audio to the earphone 10. The user, whenconfiguring their earphone 10 preferences via the web site, may specifyand/or prioritize whether the host server 40 is to send IP addresses forthe streaming digital audio content servers 70 and/or whether the hostserver 40 is to stream audio to the earphone 10 itself.

In another embodiment, the earphone 10 may be programmed to transitionautomatically to the host server 40 when the earphone 10 and the datasource 20 are not in communication via the ad hoc wireless network 24.That is, in such an embodiment, the earphone 10 may not try to connectvia a local infrastructure wireless network 30 with the data source 20,but instead transition automatically to connect to the host server 40(see FIG. 2D).

In various embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1B, the button 11 or other userselection device that allows the wearer of the earphone 10 to indicateapproval and/or disapproval of songs or other audio files listened to bythe wearer over an Internet radio station. The approval/disapprovalrating, along with metadata for the song received by the earphone 10with the streaming audio, may be transmitted from the transceivercircuit 100 of the earphone 10 back to the host server 40, which may logthe songs played as well as the ratings for the various songs/audiofiles. In addition to being able to view the logs at the website, thehost server 40 (or some other server) may send an email or otherelectronic communication to the earphone user, at a user specified emailaddress or other address, which the user might access from their clientcommunication device 50 (see FIG. 2D). The email or other electroniccommunication may contain a listing of the song/audio files for whichthe user gave approval ratings using the button 11 or other userselection device. Further, the email or other electronic communicationmay provide a URL link for a URL at which the user could downloadsong/audio files that the user rated (presumably song/audio files forwhich the user gave an approval rating). In some instances, the user maybe required to pay a fee to download the song/audio file.

The user song ratings also may be used by the host server 40 todetermine the user's musical preferences and offer new music that theuser might enjoy. More details about generating user play lists based onsong ratings may be found in published U.S. patent applications Pub. No.2006/0212444, Pub. No. 2006/0206487, and Pub. No. 2006/0212442, and U.S.Pat. No. 7,003,515, which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

In addition or alternatively, the user could log onto a web site hostedby the host server 40 (or some other server) to view theapproval/disapproval ratings that the user made via the button 11 on theearphone 10. The web site may provide the user with the option ofdownloading the rated songs/audio files (for the host server 40 or someother server system) to their client computer device 50. The user couldthen have their earphone 10 connect to their client computer device 50as a data source 20 via an ad hoc wireless network 24 (see FIG. 2A) orvia an infrastructure wireless network (see FIGS. 2B-2D) to listen tothe downloaded songs. In addition, the user could download the songfiles from their client computer device 50 to their DAP and listen tothe downloaded song files from their DAP by using their DAP as the datasource 20 in a similar manner.

Another application of the headsets may be in vehicles equipped withWi-Fi or other wireless network connectivity. Published PCT applicationWO 2007/136620, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses awireless router for providing a Wi-Fi or other local wireless networkfor a vehicle, such as a car, truck, boat, bus, etc. In a vehicle havinga Wi-Fi or other local wireless network, the audio for other mediasystems in the vehicle could be broadcast over the vehicle's wirelessnetwork. For example, if the vehicle comprises a DVD player, the audiofrom the DVD system could be transmitted to the router and broadcastover the vehicle's network. Similarly, the audio from terrestrial radiostations, a CD player, or an audio cassette player could be broadcastover the vehicle's local wireless network. The vehicle's passengers,equipped with the earphones 10, could cycle through the various audiobroadcasts (including the broadcasts from the vehicle's media system aswell as broadcasts from the host server 40, for example) using aselection button 11 on the earphone 10. The vehicle may also be equippedwith a console or terminal, etc., through which a passenger could muteall of the broadcasts for direct voice communications, for example.

As described above, the earphones 10 may also include a microphone 104,as shown in the example of FIG. 9. The headset 90 shown in FIG. 9includes two earphones 10, both of which may include a transceivercircuit 100 or only one of which may include the transceiver circuit, asdiscussed above. The microphone 104 could be used to broadcastcommunications from one earphone wearer to another earphone wearer. Forexample, one wearer could activate the microphone by pressing a button92 on the headset 90. The headset 90 may then transmit a communicationvia an ad hoc wireless network 24 or other wireless network to a nearbyrecipient (or recipients) equipped with a headset 90 with a transceivercircuit 100 in one or both of the earphones 10. When such communicationis detected by the recipient's headset 90, the streaming audio receivedover the wireless network by the recipient's headset 90 may be muted,and the intercom channel may be routed to the transducer(s) of therecipient's headset 90 for playing for the recipient. This functionalitymay be valuable and useful where multiple wearers of the headsets 90 arein close proximity, such as on motorcycles, for example.

Another exemplary use of the earphones 10 is in a factory, warehouse,construction site, or other environment that might be noisy. Persons(e.g., workers) in the environment could use the earphones 10 forprotection from the surrounding noise of the environment. From a consoleor terminal, a person (e.g., a supervisor) could select a particularrecipient for a communication over the Wi-Fi network (or other localwireless network). The console or terminal may have buttons, dials, orswitches, etc., for each user/recipient, or it could have one button ordial through which the sender could cycle through the possiblerecipients. In addition, the console or terminal could have a graphicaluser interface, through which the sender may select the desiredrecipient(s).

As mentioned above, the earphones 10 may comprise a USB port. In oneembodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the user may use an adapter 150 thatconnects to the USB port of each earphone 10. The adapter 150 may alsohave a plug connector 152, such as a 3.5 mm jack, which allows the userto connect the adapter 150 to devices having a corresponding port forthe connector 152. When the earphones 10 detect a connection via theirUSB interfaces in such a manner, the Wi-Fi (or other wireless protocol)components may shut down or go into sleep mode, and the earphones 10will route standard headphone level analog signals to the transducer(s)106. This may be convenient in environments where wirelesscommunications are not permitted, such as airplanes, but where there isa convenient source of audio contact. For example, the adapter 150 couldplug into a person's DAP. The DSP 118 of the earphone 10 may still beoperational in such a non-wireless mode to provide noise cancellationand any applicable equalization.

The examples presented herein are intended to illustrate potential andspecific implementations of the embodiments. It can be appreciated thatthe examples are intended primarily for purposes of illustration forthose skilled in the art. No particular aspect of the examples is/areintended to limit the scope of the described embodiments.

According to various embodiments, therefore, the present invention isdirected to an earphone 10 that comprises a body 12, where the body 12comprises: (i) at least one acoustic transducer 106 for converting anelectrical signal to sound; (ii) an antenna 108; and (iii) a transceivercircuit 100 in communication with the at least one acoustic transducer106 and the antenna 108. The transceiver circuit 100 is for receivingand transmitting wireless signals via the antenna 108, and thetransceiver circuit 100 is for outputting the electrical signal to theat least one acoustic transducer 106. The wireless transceiver circuitalso comprises firmware, which when executed by the transceiver circuit,causes the transceiver circuit to: (i) receive digital audio wirelesslyfrom a data source 20 via an ad hoc wireless network 24 when the datasource 20 is in wireless communication range with the earphone 10 viathe ad hoc wireless network 24; and (ii) when the data source 20 is notin wireless communication range with the earphone 10 via the ad hocwireless network 24, transition automatically to receive digital audiovia an infrastructure wireless network 30.

According to various implementations, the data source may comprise aportable digital audio player, such as an MP3 player, iPod, or laptopcomputer, or a nonportable digital audio player, such as a personalcomputer. In addition, the transceiver circuit 100 may comprise: (i) awireless communication module 110 (such as a Wi-Fi or other wirelesscommunication protocol module); (ii) a processor unit 114 incommunication with the wireless communication module 110; (iii) anon-volatile memory unit 122 in communication with the processor unit114; and (iv) a volatile memory 120 unit in communication with theprocessor unit 114. The infrastructure wireless network may comprise aWLAN. The transceiver circuit 100 may receive digital audio from thedata source 20 via the infrastructure wireless network 30 when the datasource 20 is not in wireless communication range with the earphone 10via the ad hoc wireless network 24. The transceiver circuit firmware,when executed by the transceiver circuit 100, may cause the transceivercircuit 100 of the earphone 10 to transition automatically to a pre-setinfrastructure wireless network 30 that the data source 20 transitionsto when the data source 20 is not in wireless communication range withthe earphone 10 via the ad hoc wireless network 24 and when the pre-setinfrastructure wireless network 30 is in range of both the earphone 10and the data source 20. In addition, the transceiver circuit firmware,when executed by the transceiver circuit 100, may cause the transceivercircuit 100 of the earphone 10 to transmit data via the ad hoc wirelessnetwork 24 to the data source 20 regarding one or more infrastructurewireless networks 30 detected by the transceiver circuit 100 when theearphone 10 and the data source 20 are communicating via the ad hocwireless network 24.

In addition, the transceiver circuit firmware, when executed by thetransceiver circuit 100, may cause the transceiver circuit 100 of theearphone 10 to connect to a host server 40 via an availableinfrastructure wireless network 30 when the data source 20 is not inwireless communication range with the earphone 10 via the ad hocwireless network 24. The earphone 10 may receive streaming digital audiofrom the host server 40 via the infrastructure wireless network 30. Inaddition, the earphone 10 may receive a first network address for afirst streaming digital audio content server 70 from the host server 40via the infrastructure wireless network 30. In addition, the earphone 10may comprise a user control, such as button 11, dial, pressure switch,or other type of user control, that, when activated, causes the earphone10 to transmit an electronic request via the infrastructure wirelessnetwork 30 to the host server 40 for a second network address for asecond streaming digital audio content server 70.

In other embodiments, the present invention is directed to a system thatcomprises: (i) a data source 20 for wirelessly transmitting streamingdigital audio; and (ii) a wireless earphone 10 that is in wirelesscommunication with the data source 20. In yet other embodiments, thepresent invention is directed to a communication system that comprises:(i) a host server 40; (ii) a first streaming digital audio contentserver 70 that is connected to the host server 40 via a data network 42;and (iii) a wireless earphone 10 that is in communication with the hostserver 40 via a wireless network 30. The host server 40 is programmed totransmit to the earphone 10 a first network address for the firststreaming digital audio content server 70 on the data network 42. Thehost server 40 and the streaming digital audio content server(s) 70 eachmay comprise one or more processor circuits and one or more memorycircuits (e.g., ROM circuits and/or RAM circuits).

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is directed to aheadset that comprises: (i) a first earphone 10 a that comprises one ormore acoustic transducers 10 b for converting a first electrical signalto sound; and (ii) a second earphone 10 b, connected to the firstearphone 10 a, wherein the second earphone 10 b comprises one or moreacoustic transducers 10 b for converting a second electrical signal tosound. In one embodiment, the first earphone 10 a comprises: (i) a firstantenna 108; and (ii) a first transceiver circuit 100 in communicationwith the one or more acoustic transducers 106 of the first earphone 10 aand in communication with the first antenna 108. The first transceivercircuit 100 is for receiving and transmitting wireless signals via thefirst antenna 108, and for outputting the first electrical signal to theone or more acoustic transducers 10 b of the first earphone 10 a. Thefirst transceiver circuit 100 also may comprise firmware, which whenexecuted by the first transceiver circuit 100, causes the firsttransceiver circuit 100 to: (i) receive digital audio wirelessly from adata source 20 via an ad hoc wireless network 24 when the data source 20is in wireless communication range with the first earphone 10 a via thead hoc wireless network 24; and (ii) when the data source 20 is not inwireless communication range with the first earphone 10 a via the ad hocwireless network 24, transition automatically to receive digital audiovia an infrastructure wireless network 30.

In various implementations, the headset further may comprise a head band19 that is connected to the first and second earphones 10. In addition,the headset 19 further may comprise a microphone 104 having an outputconnected to the first transceiver circuit 100. In one embodiment, thefirst transceiver circuit 100 is for outputting the second electricalsignal to the one or more acoustic transducers 106 of the secondearphone 10 b. In another embodiment, the second earphone 10 bcomprises: (i) a second antenna 108; and (ii) a second transceivercircuit 100 in communication with the one or more acoustic transducers106 of the second earphone 10 b and in communication with the secondantenna 108. The second transceiver circuit 100 is for receiving andtransmitting wireless signals via the second antenna 108, and foroutputting the second electrical signal to the one or more acoustictransducers 106 of the second earphone 10 b. The second transceivercircuit 100 may comprise firmware, which when executed by the secondtransceiver circuit 100, causes the second transceiver circuit 100 to:(i) receive digital audio wirelessly from the data source 20 via the adhoc wireless network 24 when the data source 20 is in wirelesscommunication range with the second earphone 10 b via the ad hocwireless network 24; and (ii) when the data source 20 is not in wirelesscommunication range with the second earphone 10 b via the ad hocwireless network 24, transition automatically to receive digital audiovia the infrastructure wireless network 30.

In addition, according to various embodiments, the first earphone 10 amay comprise a first data port and the second earphone 10 b may comprisea second data port. In addition, the headset may further comprise anadapter or dongle 150 connected to the first data port of the firstearphone 10 a and to the second data port of the second earphone 10 b,wherein the adapter 150 comprises an output plug connector 152 forconnecting to a remote device.

In addition, according to other embodiments, the present invention isdirected to a method that comprises the steps of: (i) receiving, by awireless earphone, via an ad hoc wireless network, digital audio from adata source when the data source is in wireless communication with theearphone via the ad hoc wireless network; (ii) converting, by thewireless earphone, the digital audio to sound; and (iii) when the datasource is not in wireless communication with the earphone, transitioningautomatically, by the earphone, to receive digital audio via aninfrastructure wireless network.

In various implementations, the step of transitioning automatically bythe earphone to receive digital audio via an infrastructure wirelessnetwork may comprises transitioning automatically to receive digitalaudio from the data source via an infrastructure wireless network whenthe data source is not in wireless communication range with the earphonevia the ad hoc wireless network. In addition, the method may furthercomprise the step of receiving by the wireless earphone from the datasource via the ad hoc wireless network data regarding one or moreinfrastructure wireless networks detected by data source when theearphone and the data source are communicating via the ad hoc wirelessnetwork.

In addition, the step of transitioning automatically by the earphone toreceive digital audio via an infrastructure wireless network comprisesmay transitioning automatically to receive digital audio from a hostsever via the infrastructure wireless network when the data source isnot in wireless communication range with the earphone via the ad hocwireless network. Additionally, the step of transitioning automaticallyby the earphone to receive digital audio via an infrastructure wirelessnetwork may comprise: (i) receiving, by the wireless earphone via theinfrastructure wireless network, from a host server connected to theinfrastructure wireless network, a network address for a streamingdigital audio content server; and (ii) connecting, by the wirelessearphone, to the streaming digital audio content server using thenetwork address received from the host server.

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of theembodiments have been simplified to illustrate elements that arerelevant for a clear understanding of the embodiments, whileeliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements. For example,certain operating system details for the various computer-relateddevices and systems are not described herein. Those of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize, however, that these and other elements may bedesirable in a typical processor or computer system. Because suchelements are well known in the art and because they do not facilitate abetter understanding of the embodiments, a discussion of such elementsis not provided herein.

In general, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art thatat least some of the embodiments described herein may be implemented inmany different embodiments of software, firmware and/or hardware. Thesoftware and firmware code may be executed by a processor or any othersimilar computing device. The software code or specialized controlhardware that may be used to implement embodiments is not limiting. Forexample, embodiments described herein may be implemented in computersoftware using any suitable computer software language type. Suchsoftware may be stored on any type of suitable computer-readable mediumor media, such as, for example, a magnetic or optical storage medium.The operation and behavior of the embodiments may be described withoutspecific reference to specific software code or specialized hardwarecomponents. The absence of such specific references is feasible, becauseit is clearly understood that artisans of ordinary skill would be ableto design software and control hardware to implement the embodimentsbased on the present description with no more than reasonable effort andwithout undue experimentation.

Moreover, the processes associated with the present embodiments may beexecuted by programmable equipment, such as computers or computersystems and/or processors. Software that may cause programmableequipment to execute processes may be stored in any storage device, suchas, for example, a computer system (nonvolatile) memory, an opticaldisk, magnetic tape, or magnetic disk. Furthermore, at least some of theprocesses may be programmed when the computer system is manufactured orstored on various types of computer-readable media.

A “computer,” “computer system,” “host,” “host server,” “server,” or“processor” may be, for example and without limitation, a processor,microcomputer, minicomputer, server, mainframe, laptop, personal dataassistant (PDA), wireless e-mail device, cellular phone, pager,processor, fax machine, scanner, or any other programmable deviceconfigured to transmit and/or receive data over a network. Suchcomponents may comprise: one or more processor circuits; and one morememory circuits, including ROM circuits and RAM circuits. Computersystems and computer-based devices disclosed herein may include memoryfor storing certain software applications used in obtaining, processing,and communicating information. It can be appreciated that such memorymay be internal or external with respect to operation of the disclosedembodiments. The memory may also include any means for storing software,including a hard disk, an optical disk, floppy disk, ROM (read onlymemory), RAM (random access memory), PROM (programmable ROM), EEPROM(electrically erasable PROM) and/or other computer-readable media.

In various embodiments disclosed herein, a single component may bereplaced by multiple components and multiple components may be replacedby a single component to perform a given function or functions. Exceptwhere such substitution would not be operative, such substitution iswithin the intended scope of the embodiments. Any servers describedherein, such as the host server 40, for example, may be replaced by a“server farm” or other grouping of networked servers (such as serverblades) that are located and configured for cooperative functions. Itcan be appreciated that a server farm may serve to distribute workloadbetween/among individual components of the farm and may expeditecomputing processes by harnessing the collective and cooperative powerof multiple servers. Such server farms may employ load-balancingsoftware that accomplishes tasks such as, for example, tracking demandfor processing power from different machines, prioritizing andscheduling tasks based on network demand and/or providing backupcontingency in the event of component failure or reduction inoperability.

While various embodiments have been described herein, it should beapparent that various modifications, alterations, and adaptations tothose embodiments may occur to persons skilled in the art withattainment of at least some of the advantages. The disclosed embodimentsare therefore intended to include all such modifications, alterations,and adaptations without departing from the scope of the embodiments asset forth herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a pair of left and rightwireless earphones to be worn simultaneously by a user, wherein the leftand right earphones are separate such that when worn by the user, theleft and right earphones are not physically connected, wherein each ofthe left and right earphones comprises: a body portion that houses: awireless communication chip for receiving and transmitting wirelesssignals; and a processor chip in communication with the wirelesscommunication chip; an ear canal portion extending from the body portionsuch that the ear canal portion is inserted into an ear of the user whenworn; an elongated portion that extends away from the body portion suchthat the elongated portion extends downwardly when the ear canal portionis inserted in the ear of the user; at least one acoustic transducerconnected to the processor chip; a microphone connected to the processorchip; an antenna connected to the wireless communication chip; and arechargeable battery; and a docking station for holding at least one ofthe wireless earphones, wherein the docking station comprises a powercable for connecting to an external device for charging the at least oneearphone when the docking station is connected to the external devicevia the power cable; and a mobile, digital audio player that storesdigital audio content and that comprises a wireless transceiver fortransmitting digital audio content to both the left and right earphonesvia Bluetooth wireless communication links, such that each earphonecommunicates with the mobile, digital audio player, wherein: in a firstoperational mode, the pair of left and right earphones play audiocontent stored on the mobile, digital audio player and transmitted tothe left and right earphones from the mobile, digital audio player viathe Bluetooth wireless communication links; and in a second operationalmode, the pair of left and right earphones play audio content streamedfrom a remote network server.
 2. An apparatus comprising: a pair of leftand right wireless earphones to be worn simultaneously by a user,wherein the left and right earphones are separate such that when worn bythe user, the left and right earphones are not physically connected,wherein each of the left and right earphones comprises: a body portionthat houses: a wireless communication chip for receiving wireless audiocontent via a Bluetooth wireless communication link; and a processorchip in communication with the wireless communication chip; an ear canalportion extending from the body portion such that the ear canal portionis inserted into an ear of the user when worn; an elongated portion thatextends away from the body portion such that the elongated portionextends downwardly when the ear canal portion is inserted in the ear ofthe user; at least one acoustic transducer connected to the processorchip for playing audio content received by the wireless communicationchip; a microphone connected to the processor chip; an antenna connectedto the wireless communication chip; and a rechargeable battery; adocking station for holding at least one of the wireless earphones,wherein the docking station comprises a power cable for connecting to anexternal device for charging the at least one earphone when the dockingstation is connected to the external device via the power cable; amobile, digital audio player that stores digital audio content and thatcomprises a wireless transceiver for transmitting digital audio contentto both the left and right earphones via Bluetooth wirelesscommunication links, such that each earphone communicates with themobile, digital audio player; and a remote network server that is incommunication with the mobile, digital audio device via a communicationsnetwork; wherein: in a first operational mode, the pair of left andright earphones play audio content stored on the mobile, digital audioplayer and transmitted to the left and right earphones from the mobile,digital audio player via the Bluetooth wireless communication links; andin a second operational mode, the pair of left and right earphones playaudio content streamed from the remote network server.
 3. An apparatuscomprising: a pair of left and right wireless earphones to be wornsimultaneously by a user, wherein the left and right earphones areseparate such that when worn by the user, the left and right earphonesare not physically connected, wherein each of the left and rightearphones comprises: a body portion: an ear canal portion extending fromthe body portion such that the ear canal portion is inserted into an earof the user when worn; an elongated portion that extends away from thebody portion such that the elongated portion extends downwardly when theear canal portion is inserted in the ear of the user; a wirelesscommunication chip for receiving wireless audio content via a Bluetoothwireless communication link; and a processor chip in communication withthe wireless communication chip; at least one acoustic transducerconnected to the processor chip for playing audio content received bythe wireless communication chip; a microphone connected to the processorchip; an antenna connected to the wireless communication chip; and arechargeable battery; and a docking station for holding at least one ofthe wireless earphones, wherein the docking station comprises a powercable for connecting to an external device for charging the at least oneearphone when the docking station is connected to the external devicevia the power cable; and a mobile, digital audio player that storesdigital audio content and that comprises a wireless transceiver fortransmitting digital audio content to both the left and right earphonesvia Bluetooth wireless communication links, such that each earphonecommunicates with the mobile, digital audio player, wherein: in a firstoperational mode, the pair of left and right earphones play audiocontent stored on the mobile, digital audio player and transmitted tothe left and right earphones from the mobile, digital audio player viathe Bluetooth wireless communication links; and in a second operationalmode, the pair of left and right earphones play audio content streamedfrom a remote network server.